Thou Shall Prosper E-Book

Daniel Lapin

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 751

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2009

Beschreibung

A practical approach to creating wealth-based on the established principles of ancient Jewish wisdom-made accessible to people of all backgrounds The ups and downs of the economy prove Rabbi Daniel Lapin's famous principle that the more things change, the more we need to depend upon the things that never change. There's no better source for both practical and spiritual financial wisdom than the time-tested knowledge found in the ancient Jewish faith and its culture. In the Second Edition of Thou Shall Prosper, Lapin offers a practical approach to creating wealth based on the established principles of ancient Jewish wisdom. This book details the ten permanent principles that never change, the ten commandments of making money if you will, and explores the economic and philosophic vision of business that has been part of Jewish culture for centuries. The book's focus is on making accessible to individuals of all backgrounds, the timeless truths that Jews have used for centuries to excel in business. * Outlines ten fundamental "commandments" relating to business and money * Includes insights that will increase your potential for creating wealth, no matter what your faith or background may be * Blends contemporary business stories and Lapin's own business experiences with the wisdom of the Torah and Talmudic prescriptions This Second Edition provides new examples, especially of Internet related business opportunities. In addition, each chapter highlights specific action steps that can lead to wealth opportunities in both difficult economic times and periods of prosperity.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

Foreword

Introduction

YOU DO WANT MORE MONEY, DON’T YOU?

THE RECIPE

FOUR FALSE THEORIES ABOUT JEWISH BUSINESS SUCCESS

THE TRUE EXPLANATION FOR JEWISH SUCCESS IN BUSINESS AND MONEY MATTERS

KNOWING HOW THE WORLD REALLY WORKS

SUCCESS REQUIRES LEARNING AND PRACTICE

WHAT MADE ME WRITE THIS BOOK

The First Commandment - Believe in the Dignity and Morality of Business

FEEL VIRTUOUS, GROW WEALTHY

MONEY IS HOLY, AND HOLIDAYS ARE LINKED TO MONEY

JEWS BECAME BANKERS TO HELP OTHERS, NOT AS A LAST RESORT

GOLD IS GOOD: GOD SAID SO

“CHARITY IS GOOD; BUSINESS IS SELFISH”—A POPULAR MISCONCEPTION

YOU CAN’T EARN AN HONEST LIVING WITHOUT PLEASING OTHERS

HOW WE ARE ALL PERSUADED THAT BUSINESS IS EVIL

HOW WE ARE TAUGHT THAT BUSINESS IS BAD, FROM EARLY EDUCATION

MOVIES AND TELEVISION CONSPIRE TO MAKE YOU POOR

WE CAN’T HELP BELIEVING SOME OF WHAT PEOPLE TELL US

MANY PEOPLE BELIEVE THAT BUSINESS IS INHERENTLY BAD

POPULAR CULTURE SUPPORTS IMMORAL “LOVE”: MONEY IS BAD, BUT SEX IS GOOD?

HUMANS ARE NOT JUST “SMART ANIMALS”

EVEN BUSINESS PROFESSIONALS THEMSELVES HAVE GIVEN UP THE FIGHT

HOW STARBUCKS DOES GOOD WORKS—EVERY DAY

BAIN CONSULTANTS CAN TRANSFER TO “MORALLY UPLIFTING” WORK

MOST PEOPLE WORK “IN BUSINESS”—AND THERE’S NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT!

The Second Commandment - Extend the Network of Your Connectedness to Many People

HOW TO BUILD RELATIONSHIPS? LEARN FROM YOUR PARENTS

STAY CONNECTED TO OTHERS: YOU’LL BE HAPPIER AND LIVE LONGER

FRIENDSHIPS LEAD TO WEALTH, RATHER THAN THE REVERSE

FIND OPPORTUNITIES TO MAKE MANY FRIENDS

FORGE FRIENDSHIPS BY CREATING ONGOING OBLIGATIONS

MURDER AND THE CITY—HOW ONLY CROWDS OF PEOPLE CAN CREATE WEALTH

IMPROVING CONNECTIONS ENHANCES WEALTH CREATION

HELPING OTHERS IMPROVE THEIR LIVES HELPS YOU IMPROVE YOUR OWN LIFE

DON’T BE A “WAGE SLAVE”—BE IN BUSINESS FOR YOURSELF

BE PROUD OF AND LET PEOPLE KNOW WHAT YOU DO

CHOOSE YOUR FRIENDS AND CUSTOMERS CAREFULLY

SERVICE DOESN’T MEAN SERVILITY

LOVING OTHERS, NOT JUST YOURSELF

TO LEARN HOW TO SERVE, LEARN HOW TO BE SERVED

THE POWER OF PREDICTABILITY IN MAINTAINING RELATIONSHIPS

The Third Commandment - Get to Know Yourself

RECOGNIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF BUSINESS SKILLS IN EVERY PROFESSION

WHY YOU ARE SO IMPORTANT IN DETERMINING YOUR OWN SUCCESS

HELPING YOUR WISE IMPULSE DOMINATE YOUR SELF DESTRUCTIVE IMPULSE

LISTEN TO YOUR CONSCIENCE

TO THINE OWN SELF BE TRUE

UNDERSTAND WHAT REALLY MOTIVATES PEOPLE

RECOGNIZE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PHYSICAL AND SPIRITUAL CHARACTERISTICS AND NEEDS

BALANCING ALL FOUR MOTIVATORS TO ACHIEVE MAXIMUM SUCCESS IN ALL ASPECTS OF YOUR LIFE

ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR NEGATIVE ATTRIBUTES

The Fourth Commandment - Do Not Pursue Perfection

DON’T BLAME “BUSINESS” BECAUSE OF A FEW UNETHICAL BUSINESSPEOPLE

WHY IS BUSINESS EXCORIATED WHEN OTHER PROFESSIONS ARE EXCUSED?

THE “ROBBER BARONS” WEREN’T EVIL: THEY CREATED GOOD, TOO

WHEN YOU TAKE LUXURIES FOR GRANTED, THINGS MUST BE PRETTY GOOD

HOW “ETHICAL CAPITALISM” DIFFERS FROM ORDINARY, EVERYDAY CAPITALISM

THERE’S ONLY ONE WAY THAT ETHICAL CAPITALISM WORKS

THE FOUR FAMOUS ALLEGATIONS AGAINST BUSINESS

INSTEAD OF PERFECTION—THE NEXT BEST THING

THE CIVILIZING EFFECT OF BUSINESS

The Fifth Commandment - Lead Consistently and Constantly

WHAT LEADERSHIP TRAINING IS NOT

BE READY TO STEP INTO LEADERSHIP

HOW JUDAISM DEFINES “LEADERSHIP”

BECOMING A LEADER

LEARN TO FOLLOW IF YOU WANT TO LEARN TO LEAD

MAINTAIN A CLEAR VISION OF YOUR GOAL

CONFRONTATION IS OFTEN NECESSARY

LEADERSHIP REQUIRES MASTERY OF BOTH FAITH AND FACTS

USING THE POWER OF PRAYER TO ENHANCE YOUR FAITH AND TO IMPROVE YOUR BUSINESS SUCCESS

MAINTAINING BALANCE

USE BODY LANGUAGE TO LOOK LIKE A LEADER

CONTROL YOUR PHYSICAL MOVEMENTS TO SHOW SELF ASSURANCE

LEARN TO GIVE PRESENTATIONS WITHOUT NOTES

ADOPT A “MASK OF COMMAND”

The Sixth Commandment - Constantly Change the Changeable While Steadfastly ...

THE JEWISH STAR SHOWS HOW TO BALANCE CHANGE WITH A FIXED FRAME OF REFERENCE

INNOVATION AND CHANGE ARE A NECESSARY EVOLUTION

INCREMENTAL CHANGE IS EASIER TO ACCEPT

MAKE CHANGES GRADUALLY WHENEVER POSSIBLE

IN CONTRAST TO OTHER CULTURES, JUDAISM EMBRACES CHANGE

INTEGRATING CHANGE AND THE UNCHANGEABLE INTO YOUR LIFE

THE MORE THINGS CHANGE, THE MORE YOU MUST DEPEND ON THINGS THAT NEVER CHANGE

SOME THINGS SHOULD NEVER CHANGE: PROFIT IS A CORE VALUE

EVALUATING WHEN CHANGE IS NECESSARY BECAUSE OF NEW CIRCUMSTANCES

CHANGE DOES NOT ALWAYS MEAN CHANGE

THE REALITY OF CHANGE IS DEPICTED MORE ACCURATELY BY A VIDEO THAN BY A SNAPSHOT

The Seventh Commandment - Learn to Foretell the Future

RECOGNIZE WHEN EXTERNAL EVENTS WILL AFFECT YOUR BUSINESS OR LIFE

INTERPRET EVENTS WITHOUT EMOTION

LEARN TO SEE CLUES IN THE PRESENT THAT FORESHADOW THE FUTURE

LOOK BACKWARD TO SEE FORWARD

KEEP IN MIND THE PATTERNS OF TIME

HOW TO USE THE CYCLES OF LIFE TO DETERMINE OTHER TRENDS

CONSECRATING TIME FOR FORECASTING

HOW TO DERIVE THE MOST BENEFIT FROM YOUR QUIET FORECASTING TIME

GOAL SETTING IS SEEING THE FUTURE

The Eighth Commandment - Know Your Money

WHAT IS MONEY?

THE JEWISH PERCEPTION OF MONEY

THE USE OF MONEY INVOLVES TRUST

MONEY IS INTANGIBLE: IT DEPENDS ON REPUTATION

A WIDESPREAD SYSTEM OF COMMON VALUES PRODUCES WEALTH

VALUE: HOW MUCH SOMETHING IS WORTH

TO CREATE VALUE, YOU MUST UNDERSTAND VALUE

FINANCIAL RECORD KEEPING ON WHICH EVERYONE CAN AGREE

CALCULATING TOTAL VALUE OF GOODS IN THE TOTAL ECONOMY

HOW JEWISH TRADITION ASSESSES THE VALUE OF POSSESSIONS

JEWISH TRADITION ESPOUSES THE MOVEMENT OF MONEY

The Ninth Commandment - Act Rich: Give Away 10 Percent of Your After Tax Income

WHY PEOPLE GIVE TO CHARITY—EVEN WHEN IT’S NOT RATIONAL

JEWISH TRADITION TEACHES THAT CHARITABLE GIVING BENEFITS THE GIVER

DON’T LIVE BEYOND YOUR MEANS; INSTEAD GIVE BEYOND YOUR MEANS

GIVING MONEY AWAY MAKES MORE COME BACK TO YOU

GIVE MONEY, NOT JUST TO DO GOOD BUT TO DO WELL

BEING CHARITABLE MEANS MAKING NEW FRIENDS

DONATING IS LIKE INVESTING: IT INCREASES WHAT COMES BACK TO YOU

CHARITY FOCUSES YOU OUTSIDE YOURSELF

FEEL VIRTUOUS FOR A VERY GOOD REASON

FOR GOOD REASON, ADMIRE YOURSELF

PEOPLE ARE CREATORS, NOT CONSUMERS, AND GIVERS, NOT TAKERS

The Tenth Commandment - Never Retire

RETIREMENT SHOULD NOT BE A GOAL

“WE’RE GOOD UNTIL WE DIE”: LIFE STORIES OF PRODUCTIVE LONGEVITY

THE KEY TO LONGEVITY IS CARING FOR OTHERS

HEBREW DOESN’T EVEN RECOGNIZE THE CONCEPT OF “RETIREMENT”

THE VERY IDEA OF RETIREMENT ERODES THE QUALITY OF PERSEVERANCE

THE THREE LIES OF THE RETIREMENT MYTH

THE REAL ROLE OF WORK

Epilogue

Notes

Index

Copyright © 2010 by Rabbi Daniel Lapin. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

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eISBN : 978-0-470-54171-5

Foreword

I didn’t grow up as a rich kid, but I did grow up as a business kid. My father had this fantastic entrepreneurial attitude, and he taught me about goal setting, hard work, and focused intensity. I remember going up to him one summer when I was 12 and saying, “Dad, I need some money.”

He replied, “You’re 12 years old. You don’t need money, what you need is a job!”

So, I got to learn about cutting grass that summer. More than that, I learned about setting goals, marketing, and determination. I printed up business cards and built up quite the little enterprise.

The most important business lesson my dad taught me was that money comes from work. Don’t talk to me about what you deserve or what you’re entitled to. No one is going to hand you anything. This has been true since the beginning of time: You’ve got to leave the cave, kill something, and drag it home. Then it’s yours.

I’m grateful to my dad for teaching me that lesson from an early age, especially since it’s an attitude I don’t see much anymore. Thomas Edison said it pretty well: “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” More and more, it seems like people want wealth, but they don’t want to work for it. They need a shot in the arm, a call back to the virtue, ethics, morality, and importance of business.

And that, my friend, is why I love this book.

I didn’t know of Rabbi Lapin until a friend gave me a copy of Thou Shall Prosper in a men’s Bible study group a couple of years ago. I had never heard of the book before, but I flipped through it and later read it in detail with the study group. I was completely blown away. It is definitely one of the top financial books I have ever read—and I’ve read a lot of them.

Lapin admits that he’s not a “star of finance,” and that’s part of the brilliance of the book. When you read a book written by someone like Bill Gates or Warren Buffett, you have to recognize that these aren’t really “regular people.” Chances are you don’t have a Bill Gates living next door to you. All the stars have to line up to have that kind of success, and you get someone like that once in a blue moon.

Thou Shall Prosper is about regular people. Whether you’re a part time coffee clerk or a big time corporate CEO, Lapin shows you a whole new mind set about work and about money. Did you catch that? Work and money. Most people never realize the two are connected!

Beyond the work-money connection, Lapin’s overall thesis is fascinating. Some people may not be comfortable with it, but I think history shows it to be true: Jewish people are unusually gifted at making and managing money. It’s not a racial thing; it’s a cultural thing. There is something in the cultural mind set and national experience of the Jewish people that we need to recognize if we want to win with money.

Lapin understands that money isn’t just physical; it’s a spiritual reality. It’s “spiritual” in that it isn’t about folded pieces of paper, and it isn’t about what those little slips of paper can buy. It is about people and relationships. Money is the buzz; the connection that makes our interpersonal networks rich and fulfilling.

In a sense, money connects two dreamers. Think about that. I personally love to ski. I enjoy hitting the slopes and spending that time with my family, and it doesn’t bother me at all to spend money doing that particular activity.

I imagine it is another person’s dream to own and operate a luxury ski resort. He is fulfilled and motivated by providing a great service and outstanding accommodations to skiers. So, when I go on vacation, I hand him my money and he hands me my keys and skis. We’re both excited about the transaction, we both get what we want, and both our dreams are fulfilled. In that moment, it isn’t about money. Money is just what facilitated our relationship.

These days, however, business—and businesspeople—are getting a bad rap. The pursuit of wealth through a successful business is not viewed as an honorable enterprise by some, and I honestly cannot understand why that is.

One of the things that most irritates me as a successful businessman is the often stated belief that wealth is a by product of dishonesty or moral shortcomings. Some people—whom I not so affectionately call “losers”—honestly believe that the only way for one person to gain wealth is to lie to, cheat, or take advantage of someone else. The idea of an honorable wealthy person is totally foreign to many people, and that’s just sad.

A lot of people, including many in the media, propagate what my friend Tim Sanders calls a “scarcity mentality.” It’s like there’s a limited amount of wealth in the world, and one man’s success directly causes another’s failure. Therefore, the only way for me to get more money is to take it away from someone else. What a crock!

But people from all walks of life buy into this nonsense, don’t they? I often see this at two opposite extremes: greedy poor people and guilty rich people. Now, I’m not saying all poor people are greedy, and I’m not saying all rich people are guilty. However, our society often tries to steer us along one of these two paths. Chances are you know people who represent both sides.

The greedy poor people are those who have little ambition, work their nine-to-five jobs, go home and sit on the sofa, complain about how the “little man” can’t get ahead, haven’t read a book since high school, and feel like the world owes them something. It may be free health care, free college education, free retirement, free insurance, or a total free ride. They think that just because they work their eight-hour-a day jobs, they’re doing all they can. And if they don’t make enough money doing it, then someone else should step in and take care of them.

The guilty rich people are those who work like crazy people, are mentally engaged in business, think about new and creative ways to service others, know how to turn $1 into $100, fully fund college accounts for their kids, read a book a month, build up a large retirement account—and then feel guilty about it. They listen to the lies about the dishonesty and mistrust of business, and they become ashamed of their success. They give a great deal to good causes, not out of a sense of duty or charity, but out of some misguided notion that their wealth has put others into poverty.

Let me be crystal clear: Both of these groups have missed the mark. There is a dignity to wealth creation through honorable business that is unlike anything else on earth. There is no crime in handing someone a dollar for a job well done, and there’s certainly no shame in accepting it for providing the service. That’s why Rabbi Lapin calls every dollar you earn a “certificate of appreciation” from your customers.

You see, in business, if you don’t do a good job, no one will give you these little certificates. And if that happens, you go out of business. So, where are all these dishonest, misbehaving, backdoor dealing, wealthy, dirty businessmen? The bottom line is that if you’re a creep, your customers will know it—and you won’t last long.

The ten commandments outlined in this book are for everybody. You don’t have to be Jewish. You don’t have to be rich. You don’t have to own a business or aspire to become the next Michael Dell. They are simple, practical principles for life and business. They have to do with how you view money, how you treat people, and how you represent yourself in the marketplace.

Overall, this book isn’t about becoming rich; it’s about adding value—to yourself, your family, and the world around you. Rabbi Lapin shows that when you contribute to the well being of other people through honorable business and wise stewardship, you win. And it’s not just your victory; it impacts everyone around you. You can actually create wealth in your community, and when you do, everyone benefits.

—Dave Ramsey Nashville, Tennessee

Introduction to the New Edition

Our human nature encourages us to view our own times as unique. In every epoch people think that things are truly different. After World War I, people really believed that wars would never again be fought. After World War II, people promised that genocides would never again be allowed to occur. After the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, people said that the world would never be the same again. After the stock market collapse and the international recession in early 2009, people said that everything has changed. Business will never again be the same. They were all right, while at the same time they were all wrong.

Of course things change. Along with death and taxes, change is a constant. However, the more that things change, the more we need to depend upon those things that never change. And the timeless truths never do change. War and genocide are not becoming obsolete. People will always travel and trade. It is only the superficialities that change. Occasionally they change dramatically but all that does is camouflage how little the permanent principles have changed.

This edition of Thou Shall Prosper is necessary in order to highlight more effectively how those things that never change, really never do change. It is necessary to reveal not only how Jews have used a set of systematic strategies in the past, but also how they are continuing to do so in the present and will do so on into the future. Above all, it is to show you that regardless of dramatic changes in the world, and regardless of your religious background, these strategies remain effective and are there for you to deploy in your quest for greater prosperity.

Mark Twain once wrote: “The Jews constitute but one percent of the human race. Properly the Jew ought hardly to be heard of; but he is heard of, has always been heard of. He is a successful businessman; the immense wholesale business of Broadway is substantially in his hands. Eighty five percent of the great and lucrative businesses of Germany are in the hands of the Jewish race. The Jew is a money-getter.”1

In reality, Jews do not constitute even one tenth of one percent of the human race. Mark Twain may have grossly overestimated the size of the world’s Jewish population, but he was quite right to observe that Jews are disproportionately successful in business. From notorious Nazis to Hassidic scholars, from Japan’s cultural commentators to conspiracy theorists who have never met a Jew, all who have examined the historic and current identity of the Jewish people acknowledge one simple truth—Jews are good at business.

This is true not only in the United States of the twenty first century, but also in many countries over many centuries. Whether in Europe, North Africa, or the United States, Jews have always been both reviled and admired. Jews are hated and envied; they are despised and loved. For people that make up only about two percent of the U.S. population, they are disproportionately influential in so many areas of American life. They are spoken of, written about, and depicted far more than other demographic groups of similar size. Part of the reason for this is surely their conspicuous economic success.

I hope that this observation does not make you squeamish. I am not saying there are no poor Jews, only that Jews are disproportionately good with money. Neither am I trying to affirm anti Semitic stereotypes of the money grabbing Jew. On the contrary, I am dispelling that anti Semitic canard. Remember that Judaism itself has never seen wealth as evidence of misdeed. In fact this book will show that although there are obvious exceptions found in all faiths, for the most part people prosper when they behave decently and honorably toward one another and live among others who conduct themselves similarly.

As an Orthodox rabbi, I have devoted much of my research to studying and isolating those characteristics that have helped Jews excel in business. This book makes these characteristics available in usable form for all readers, regardless of faith. You might be wondering, “If he knows the secrets of wealth creation, why doesn’t he just get on with creating wealth instead of writing the secrets down for others?” The answer, as you shall see in the pages ahead, is that your prosperity does not mean that there is any less for me. My lengthy investigation into the accumulated wisdom of three thousand years of Jewish scholarship reveals precisely the reverse. The more wealth that the people around me create, the more I shall benefit, too. What is more, like many Jews, when I have faithfully followed the permanent principles you are about to study, I have prospered richly, and when I have foolishly abandoned them, I have failed.